After we left White Sands, we raced to Tucson for more adventures.
Thursday, as we all know, was Thanksgiving, and my brother invited us to his home for a feast.
We started out the day with a beautiful walk to the nearby playground. My brother and his family have their in-laws' home, Autumn's school, and a fantastic playground all within two miles of their home. We stopped for a quick hello to Kristin's parents, Jeff and Debbie, saw Autumn's school, and had so much fun at the playground Scott and Kristin almost forgot they were hosting Thanksgiving!
Autumn became instant buddies with both dogs, but Margo called dibs on Autumn most of the trip. Both dogs were so thrilled to have someone so enthusiastic and fun to play with.
There were too many good things to eat to even name here. The food was excellent and the company even better!
I got to sit next to Autumn. 💛 Mostly because Margo wasn't allowed to sit at the table.
I know I've said it before, but it's something I don't take for granted, so I'll keep saying it. I won the brother lottery. I am so proud of all of them.
I definitely won the nieces and nephew lottery too. Autumn is just as imaginative and fun as ever and so wise and introspective too. I'm so thrilled to be a part of her growing up. Though she is growing up a little too fast in my opinion! Both Autumn and Harper are now getting into makeup! I digress.
Debbie took this picture, and it's one of my favorites from the trip.
What's the best thing to do after eating a hearty Thanksgiving meal? I know 100% of you are thinking, "the trampoline, duh!" I think Scott jumped the highest, Robert was the best popcorner (it's a wonder that lovely meal wasn't popcorned right out of us), Autumn was the most energetic, and I was just trying to stay alive and not ingest too much of the leftover silly string from Autumn's birthday party.
Thanks to Debbie for this great video!
We ate so much initially there wasn't any room for pie, so we had it for dinner. Savannah is demonstrating the best and only way to eat pie.
Did I practice the ukulele any during the trip? Absolutely. Even after a long day of marathon eating and trampolining. It's important to stay on top of those Old MacDonald skills, because who wants to listen to a mediocre rendition of Old MacDonald?
There are some of us who don't appreciate music at all though. Especially when the music is taking up space on their hotel room couch. But musicians can't please everyone right?
Black Friday arrived crisp and beautiful, a perfect day for a crazy long bike ride. 27 miles!
Life imitating art or art imitating life? There's no telling.
So many bridges! If you need a bridge fix, bike the trails in Tucson! Thanks to Scott for this picture.
Look how ridiculously pretty it was! And also, if you look way way in the back of the picture there's me and Robert, who was being a good sport and containing his inner speed demon so I wouldn't feel like such a slowpoke.
It only took me 12 miles to get up the courage to try out the electric part of the electric bike. Everyone was way way up ahead, and here I was chugging along, terrified of speed. Thankfully, I got over my fears and spent the rest of the ride watching everyone as tiny specks on the far horizon, but at least I could see everyone.
Would I do it again? Absolutely. Now that I'm comfortable with the electric assist, I would blast past everyone (but maybe not Kristin, who had some kind of hidden jetpack) and laugh manically all the while. You got another crazy bike ride, Scott? Bring it on!
On Saturday we drove up to Scottsdale to visit the Butterfly Wonderland and OdySea Aquarium. The aquarium was a lot of fun, one of the best aquariums I've been to. The Butterfly Wonderland was out of this world amazing.
The moment I saw the potties I knew it was going to be one of the best moments of my life.
We goofed around for a while at the outdoor mall area where the attractions were. We witnessed the birth of an Autumnosaur, which was maybe the first of its kind.
We also observed the double-headed Santa saguaro, the only one believed to be in existence.
The Santa cactus was irresistible.
Also irresistible? The bubbles of course!
After watching a breathtaking 3D movie about monarch butterfly migration, we opened the doors to the butterfly habitat and entered another world.
We can't get enough of Savannah's face, that toothy smile of joy. She knows she's loved. And she knows she's adorable. Both shine through in that smile.
Apparently butterflies can't get enough of her either. But I don't think she was as much a fan of them as they were of her.
The butterflies also loved Robert. He had three on him at one point.
One even decided he was the perfect place to deliver butterfly babies. A staff member tried to reassure us it was just poop. Thanks!
The best part of the butterfly habitat was the butterflies...Or was it? I'm pretty sure the habitat was so magical because of musician, Aaron White's presence. He created a healing and peaceful energy that could be felt everywhere. It was almost as if the butterflies were his music brought to life.
I'm not sure who took this picture, but way to go!
Robert was a good sport about the butterflies attraction to him, but he was sick with jealousy when this beauty chose me for a quick rest. A blue morpho?
So what were the dogs doing during all our of gallivanting? Debbie and Jeff were taking good care of them. I'm not sure Scott and Kristin's patio will ever be the same.
I can't even talk about the next morning and all the goodbyes. It never gets any easier to say goodbye.
So I'll leave the post with this new addition to our picture rail, a birthday present from Scott, Kristin, Autumn, and Savannah. Can you spot the new treasure?
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